One Month Ago
“Marry me.” Greg was following close behind me after I had left him on the dance floor. That kiss was a dangerous one, but his statement was worse.
“Excuse me?” I didn’t turn around but kept walking towards the back of the reception hall. Even though Alexa and Max had decided on a Vegas wedding, Max had made sure she got every little thing she wanted, down to the honeysuckle bouquet.
“You heard me.” A hand grabbed for my arm and stopped me. I turned around and Greg took the opportunity to pull me closer to him by wrapping an arm around my waist. “It wasn’t a question.”
“I know it wasn’t, which is why I’m confused.” I pulled my arm out of his grasp and pushed at his chest. He released me with ease and I backed down the hallway that lead to the chapel. It was the only way out, but with what Greg had said, it almost seemed like I was giving in and leading us right to our future.
“I’m serious, Lilly.” I turned around to head for the doors in front of us, but heard a loud thump from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Greg had hit the wall. Luckily there was no damage. He looked me up while holding his fist to sooth the pain I knew he was feeling. His eyes roamed over my maid-of-honor dress and he licked his lips. I wanted him to kiss me again like he had on that dance floor, so when he came up to me, pulled me into his arms again, lightly laying his lips across mine, I didn’t pull back. “Marry me.”
Greg pulled himself far enough away from me only so that I could answer him.
“Why? Why me?” I licked my lips and looked him up and down. The top few buttons of his dress shirt had come unbuttoned and his tux was open and spread against his hips.
“Why not?” That seemed like the most important statement of the whole night. The man I was in love with wanted to marry me. Was flat out telling me to marry him, but I still wanted to know his motive.
“Are you drunk?” I narrowed my eyes at Greg.
“No.” His face turned to stone. “I wouldn’t be saying all of this if I wasn’t sober.”
He pulled one of my hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles.
“When I saw Alexa walking down the aisle to Max, I couldn’t help but think of you, wishing it was you walking down the aisle towards me.” Greg continued.
“Where is all of this coming from, Greg?” I was feeling dizzy now and stepped out of Greg’s arms and braced my back against the hallway wall to support me.
“Am I not allowed to express my feelings for you?” He moved to face me, hands resting against the wall, caging me in.
“You never have before.” I put a hand on his chest to stop him from coming any closer.
“Just marry me, Lilly.” He was pleading now. I ran my eyes over his hurt face and his tension-filled body. “Please.”
He closed his eyes and laid his forehead against mine.
“Please just marry me, Lilly.”
I had no idea where my answer was coming from or why I was answering Greg at all.
“Yes.”
He didn’t wait for anything more, but grabbed my hand and led our way through the chapel doors. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me at how excited he was. I hadn’t seen him like this since our last rival game we watched and his team had won.
“She said yes!” Greg shouted into what I thought was an empty room, but no, there was the officiant who had done Alexa and Max’s wedding standing at the end of the aisle with his assistant standing next to him.
“All I need is your driver’s licenses and I’ll get the paperwork set up for you two.” The assistant held out his hand waiting. Greg pulled out his wallet and handed both of our licenses over in a matter of seconds. I forgot that I had given it to him it this morning, just in case anyone decided to card me he would have it.
Greg turned towards me as the assistant went to the back room.
“This is going to be the best day ever.” He leaned in to kiss my nose.
“Did you have this all planned?” I pulled back from him. This all seemed a little too staged for my liking, like our friends were going to pop out at any moment and say it was all a joke, but they didn’t. Greg pulled me into his arms and we swayed back and forth in the spot in front of the officiant.
“Maybe.” He leaned down to kiss me softly. Maybe.
“What does that mean?” My voice was soft. I was falling into the trance of Greg and the magic that was this chapel. It was everything from seeing Alexa and Max get married to Greg being spontaneous and telling me to marry him. It all seemed unreal, like I was in a dream from which I never wanted to wake up.
“That yesterday when Max and I came to the chapel I had a conversation with Rick over here.” Greg used a head toss to motion to the officiant. “I wanted to know what the easiest way would be to get you to be mine and how soon it could happen.”
“Greg, I’m confused.”
“Don’t be.” He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose again. “Just revel in it.”
“But—”
“Don’t overthink this.”
“Here you go.” The assistant came out of the office holding a few pages of papers. “You both just need to sign these.”
He held out a pen. Greg snatched it from his hand and signed everywhere the man told him to.
“Now your turn, miss.” I looked around the room to each of the men waiting for me to sign the papers. The papers I had always wished for. I looked behind me to the doors leading back to our friends, and a slight pain filled my heart. I wanted them here. I wanted Greg’s family here. Hell, I wanted my family here. But when I looked into Greg’s eyes, something pulled at my heart and I took the pen from him.
I signed on each line after him. I was signing my heart away to a man who randomly asked me to marry him, someone whom I had set my heart on years ago, and I had no idea what his intentions were, but when I signed the last page, all those thoughts didn’t matter anymore.
I looked at Greg, who had a smile on his face that I never wanted to erase from my memory. The way my heart sped up when he took my hand and stationed us in front of the officiant could have caused a heart attack.
I tried to slow my breathing as the man started to talk, but I didn’t listen to him. I just looked at Greg who was watching me intensely. As much as I wanted to run from this moment, I didn’t.
“Do you, Greg Moran, take Lilly Alexander to be your lawful wedded wife?”
“I do.” Greg’s words forced out the tears that had been brimming in my eyes. He held my hands in his and his grip only tightened when the officiant said his next question.
“And do you, Lilly Alexander, take Greg Moran to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
I took a deep breath and looked Greg directly in the eyes, looking for a lie, looking for something that would make me say no, besides the confusions and questions that were filling my heart. Things I would take care of later, because right now Greg had said he wanted me to be his wife. So I did what any sane woman would do, I made him my husband.
“I do.”